Superstorm Sandy-Inspired Education: First 'Virtual Teach-In' on Climate Issues a Success

Photo Credit: Basil Henning

For the November Wave of Action, COA compiled educational materials from national and international sources that creatively and clearly present complex climate issues.  Materials were sorted by topic and age with resources available for K-12.  Topics included Climate Change, Global Warming, Sea Level Rise, Your Carbon Footprint, Greenhouse Gases, and the Science Behind Hurricanes and Superstorm Sandy.

Over 87 educators throughout New York and New Jersey, and even Australia, who represented 77 schools, 6 groups, 1 Cub Scout Troop, and 3 homeschoolers, signed up to bring the resources into their classrooms.

“I envision that in the future these 5th graders could find themselves in a meaningful conversation where they can contribute their ideas in their second language to help the environment.  We stressed in class that these issues were not isolated to New Jersey or to the United States, but rather a global issue that demands we work together internationally,” explained Knollwood School Spanish Teacher Basil Henning.

“Thank you for the abundance of educational information that you provided for my students. I was happy to participate and I believe my students gained tremendous insight into the conditions that set these storms into motion and the devastation that they can cause to the communities that they impact,” stated Woodlynne Public School Science Teacher Renae Vannais.

Climate change education is important every day of the year, especially now in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan. Many voices around the world are making the connection between the Typhoon and climate change. In fact, the UN Conference on Climate Change is currently meeting in Poland.

Please visit ForTheShore.org to access COA's resources and lesson plans on climate change any day of the year. 

Join us in celebrating the culmination of Waves of Action For The Shore, Clean Ocean Action’s year-long Sandy response program, on Saturday, December 7 from 8:30AM-12:00PM at McLoone’s Pier House in Long Branch, NJ.  Almost 14,000 volunteers (and counting) have helped to improve and protect the marine environment through 281 projects, with more than 100 different organizations, in over 70 towns in New York and New Jersey.  For more information and to reserve your seat at this breakfast event, click here.